The present invention relates generally to drawer handles.
An important problem arises in the case of conventional slide mounted cabinet drawers, where the drawers are utilized for the mounting of electronic and other electric components to facilitate checking, maintenance, repair, replacement, and for other reasons.
In such installations, it is the usual custom to provide at the back of the drawer, a plurality of electric plug connectors which will be engaged during the final closing movement of the drawer, and disengaged during the initial opening movement of the drawer. It will be appreciated that this engagement and disengagement of the plug connectors requires the application of increased forces over and above that normally required to slidably move the drawer in its opened or partially opened positions. Additional means are therefore desirably necessary to mechanically produce these increased forces in a practial and economic manner, and which will also function to effectively and releasably lock and apply a holding load force to the drawer in its fully closed position.
To overcome the disadvantages inherent to conventional slide drawers for the foregoing purpose, the present invention provides a drawer handle which is operable in the usual manner for opening and closing the drawer. This handle is further arranged to be swingably mounted and connected with a swingably mounted hook which is movable between locking and non-locking positions in response to relative movements of the handle. The hook is provided with an end opening slot adapted in the non-locking position of the hook to receive a cabinet mounted recessed keeper thereinto as the drawer approaches a fully closed position, and in which position the plug connectors are beginning their engagement. The actuator handle may at this time be swung in a direction to move the hook towards its locking position, whereupon the keeper is moved further into the slot to a position in which a camming surface is effective to apply increased forces to the drawer for completing its movement to a fully closed position in which the plug connectors will be fully connected. The camming surface of the hook is also operative to apply increased forces during the initial opening movement of the drawer from its fully closed position during which time the plug connectors will be disconnected. It has been found by test that a drawer equipped with two of the handles embodying the features of the present invention will operate to produce increased forces of the order of 300 lbs. to move the drawer a distance of approximately 0.50 inch.
A further important vital problem arises when it is attempted to use cabinet drawer mounting arrangements of conventional construction for the mounting of electronic and other sensitive equipment in cabinet locations, such as on shipboard, where they may be subjected to environmental vibrations and shock forces of undesirable proportions which will tend to move the slidable drawers within the cabinet in a manner which could damage or affect the operation of the equipment therein.
In installations as just described, these shock loads may conceivably be as high or greater than 5000 lbs. In order to withstand these high shock loads in the closed position of the drawer, the innermost end terminus of the hook slot is conformed so as to increase the contact area between the keeper and the associated slot edge, when the hook is in locked position.
It has also been found desirable to apply a loading force between the keeper and the hook, in the closed position of the drawer. This is accomplished by utilizing a connecting link between the hook and the hook actuating handle, this link being so connected as to be capable of passing through an over-center position, after the hook has reached a stop locked position against the associated keeper.